


the rest of the way

by negligibleCatharsis



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-02 00:36:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/363086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/negligibleCatharsis/pseuds/negligibleCatharsis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She took your hand, and guided you over and around the cables and wires that littered the floor. </p><p>“There are stairs in exactly three steps, and if I recall correctly from my descent, a total of eighty-seven stairs are present.”</p><p>“Just don’t drop me down them and I’ll be okay.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	the rest of the way

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the kink meme, this is the remastered version.

When she found you, you were stumbling around the lab, still searching for Karkat. The last thing you heard him say was, “Shit. Shit. Shit, shit shit, no, oh god no, Sollux stay here, don’t move a fucking muscle, I’ll be right back, oh my god just stay here!” and when you asked him what was wrong, the only reply you got was the hum of dying technology. 

You stumbled around, tripping over heavy cables and crashing into walls, making enough noise that you didn’t hear the soft tapping of shoes on cement. While you were reintroducing your face to the floor, she spoke, and you just about pissed yourself.

“You look quite ridiculous lying there on the floor.”

“Fuck off. Karkat abandoned me like the asshole he is so I’m stuck here. I figured that I ought to just go ahead and familiarize myself with the entire fucking room.”

“With your face?”

“I repeat: fuck off.”

You heard her move closer, and felt cool, possibly wet skin against your face. She wiped a streak of blood from your cheek, and traced a circle around your eye socket. You reached up to slap her hand away, and missed.

“I was assured that Ampora had murdered you with that blasted white twig.”

You laughed, and it was a bitter, ringing noise. “I wish he had. I can’t see for shit and FF’s… well, he did her worse than he did me.” And you remembered, and your stomach dropped. “And according to Karkat, he fucked your shit up pretty thoroughly, too.”

Her fingers left your face, and her voice was as cool as they had been. “I notice your speech impediment has gone the way of the extinct Earth lizards and mammals which I was informed inhabited the planet for a stretch of time prior to human inhabitation.”

You opened your mouth, wide. “No teeth. Vantas can’t carry a body to save his life. Although I guess he saved mine.”

“He is quite the excellent leader.”

“He’s quite the gigantic pussy.”

She laughed, actually laughed, and took your hands in hers before pulling you to your feet. “I will not refute that.” Her fingers were sticky, and when she released your hands, you brought them to your nose to smell. Maybe a head start would make you look like less of an asshole during TZ’s lessons later. But all you could smell was the iron tang of blood.

“Is this mine?”

“No.”

You sniff again. If you had to place a colour to it, you’d say it smelled blue.

“Did you do something to VK?”

“Miss Serket is fine, albeit with a bit of a swollen cheek and a dab of damaged pride, I’m sure.”

Never mind, you were going to be the king of the assholes, but that would be okay because she’d know what it was like. It was all going to be pretty okay. You reached out a hand, and found Kanaya’s face. It was covered in the same sticky, half-dried blood that her hands were. She held your wrist, and you felt her nose against it, and something wet and soft was against your skin before she dropped your hand and coughed.

“My apologies. I’m afraid I haven’t eaten quite enough, and your blood is…”

“Everywhere?”

“Well, yes.”

“KN, we’re all fucking hungry. You’re not the only one.” 

She didn’t reply.

“Wait. Did you just say that you wanted to…”

“It is absolutely nothing that you for any reason need to concern yourself over.”

“Yeah, sure, be a secretive jerk to the blind guy, ‘Oh, he can’t see me, don’t have to tell him jack shit’.”

“We are both aware that your vision or lack thereof has nothing to do with the current situation.”

“Then spill your shit, KN, and stop evading my questions.”

She didn’t miss a beat.

“I was killed by Eridan, and woke up as a rainbow drinker. I have spent the last half hour or so making sure that he will not take any more lives. And now I am here to escort you to the roof for the necessary rendezvous that is to take place.”

“Sounds like a total fucking party.”

“Naturally.”

“What do you mean, you haven’t eaten enough?”

“Might I ask a rather unconventional favour of you?”

And you got it.

“Go for it.”

Her tongue, rough like a purrbeast’s, brushed the length of your neck, and you growled. 

“We’re not fucking pailing, KN, jus bite me already.” 

She was close enough that you could feel her smirk, feel her lips part and her fangs scrape carefully against your skin, testing it before—

“Ow!”

It was like two (perfectly symmetrical- you could appreciate that) pinpricks in your jugular, and with each gentle pull of her mouth, you felt your head getting lighter.When you felt her teeth leave your skin, you briefly wondered if maybe your blood was smeared around her mouth, if she allowed her delicate tongue to dart out and clean it up, if maybe Eridan’s wand blast fucked you up because what the hell were you thinking about.

She turned your head to the side, carefully, and stuck something sticky on your neck. You ran your fingers over it clumsily, and recognized the thick, rough texture of an adhesive covering. What was she, your fucking _moirail?_

She took your hand, and guided you over and around the cables and wires that littered the floor. 

“There are stairs in exactly three steps, and if I recall correctly from my descent, a total of eighty-seven stairs are present.”

“Just don’t drop me down them and I’ll be okay.”

Neither you nor she said a word until the air around you dropped in temperature, the cheery buzzing of working computers filled your ears, and the bitter metallic tang of blood filled your nose. Her hand was still firmly around yours, and it may have been your imagination, but you were fairly certain she squeezed your fingers for a fraction of a second before letting go entirely and leaving you in a black void by yourself.

Somebody said, “Lead me over to her,” and it took a moment to register that it was you. Cool hands led you towards the smell of blood, and you knelt down and grasped at the darkness, trying to find her. Kanaya gently guided your hand to the frigid, soft skin of her cheek, and you brushed a strand of hair back into place.

“Through her bloodpusher?”

“Yes.”

You felt around for her hands, and crossed them over her chest the same way you had seen a human do once. Your palms brushed against the blood-soaked fabric of her shirt, and you wiped the stickiness off onto your jeans. For a moment, you considered giving her one last kiss, but it wasn’t going to bring her back, and she didn’t need to have mustard-yellow smeared on her face.

“We need to close her eyes.”

“Certainly, but if I might inquire as to how you knew they were open…?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?”

Her goggles were still over her eyes, so you slid them over her horns and around your own neck before feeling around for her eyebrows and closing her eyelids one by one as gently as possible. Kanaya coughed.

“I realize that this will sound hideously insensitive, but…”

“Yeah, it’s okay. She probably would have been cool with it.”

“Thank you.”

“Just get it over with so we can go make sure KK hasn’t done something stupid.”

When the quiet slurping ended and the footsteps neared you once more, you felt an arm slide around yours.

“Perhaps you ought to wear the goggles as intended. In all honesty, it would be a much more pleasant sight.”

“Well god forbid I look anything but pretty.” You fastened the goggles tightly around your head so that the plastic dug into your skin. 

“Shall we reunite with our leader?”

“Sure.”

She led you the rest of the way to the roof, and whispered the scene to you as it unfolded. The holes in your neck throbbed, and your head was still light, but she supported you the entire time.


End file.
